Sealing apparatus for open-topped liquid receptacles



Nov. 10, 1953 H. T- BASHOR ET AL ,658,377

SEALING APPARATUSFOR OPEN-TQPPED LIQUID RECEPTACLES Filed July 25, 1947 T1 2 5. 20 3mm MW/M-W Patented Nov. 10, 1953 APPARATUS FOR QPEN-TOPI' ED LIQUID RECEPTAGLES m ;1g {13, B shor and Carroll Lutz, Qolumbus, :Ohio

Application July 25, 1947, Serial'N-o. 763,588

The present invention deals with the installation and maintenance of bath tubs and similar open-topped liquid receptacles of the type normally installed in abutting or mating engagement with the walls of a room. More specifically, the present invention relates to devices or apparatus for maintaining a liquid-tight seal between the upper marginal edge of a liquid receptacle and the adjacent abutting surface of a wall, whereby liquids contained within the receptacle are prevented from coming in contact with the wall surface to cause deterioration or rotting thereof.

In the past, considerable trouble has been encountered with so called built-in bath tubs, due to the deterioration of the wall or walls disposed adjacent the tub at the regions adjoining the upper marginal edges thereof. Such deterioration was caused mainly by the presence of moisture or liquid which was splashed or spilled over the edges of the tub to eventually cOme into contact with the wall surface, which in :most instances were formed from plaste or from tile united by plaster filling. It will be understood, that once the moisture or liquid has penetrated the plaster surface, the same will come in contact with the Wood studding of the wall, and will eventually rot such studding and cause serious damage to the wall structure. The cost of repairing such damage is necessarily great, by

nature of the fact that the bath tub in its normal location adjacent the wall, must necessarily be removed, along with the associated plumbing fixtures, before access may be gained to the wall in order that the necessary repairs may be made.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide means for preventing liquids splashed from the upper edge of a bath tub from coming in contact with the wall, and subseguent- 1y causing the deterioration thereof, which means takes the form of an elongated rectangular strip or strips of yieldable material ailixed to the studding of a wall, and adjoining the upper marginal edges of a bath tub at the lines of intersection thereof with the associated wall or walls, whereby a protective shield and liquid-tight seal is interposed between the wall and the upper edge of the bath tub.

It is another object of this invention to provide apparatus of the character described which is structurally simple and economical of manufacture, and which may be readily installed during or after the installation of abuilt-in ub, or similar receptacle, in a facile manner, and

1 (Cl. 7H5) 2 which functions .emciently to prevent the seepage 01' waterinto the associated walls.

It is a further object of this invention to provide means 'for effecting a water-tight seal between the upper. marginal edge of a built-in bath tub and its adjoining wall, comprising an elongated sectional housing adapted to be secured to the studding of a wall and disposed in coextensive spaced relation to the upper marginal edge of the :bath tub, said housing being provided with a downwardly extending springpressed strip of yieldable material extending from the lower end of the housing and maintained in tightly fitting engagement with the edge or the bath tub, whereby water or other liquids are prevented from seeping or being splashed from the upper edge of the tub to the surface of the wall.

For a further and more detailed understanding of the present invention and the additional objects and advantages thereof, reference is made to the following description and the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a built-in bath tub, wherein the upper wall-adjoining edges are sealed from the associated walls by sealing apparatus formed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken along a plane indicated by the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken along theline 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail vertical sectional view taken through a sealing strip of the type embodyi g the aspects 01' the present invention;

Fig. 5 is a fra mentary elevational view of a sealing strip of the type a orementioned.

, Referring now to he drawings, and to the single illustrative embodiment of the present invention disclosed therei he numeral 10 desi nates a bath tub of the type normally n ta within a corner of a r m nmat n nr a utting relation to the wall I 1 thereof Generally, in the installation of bath tubs of this type, the wall-adjoining edges or sides of the tub are positioned in abutting relation to the wooden studding of the wall or walls prior to the application of the, outer wall finish, which, in the case of a plaster finish, is applied over the studding and terminate dj c n th pper edges or rim f the bath u In such instances, it will readily beseen tha any Water splashed upon. the upper e ges f he bath u w m likely come into contact with the adjoining plaster surface, and cause the crumbling or deterioration thereof, which in turn, will eventually cause the rotting away of the associated studding. In the event that a tile outer surface is utilized upon the wall, the usual case is to join the individual tiles by strips of plaster or other suitable bonding material, which strips are subjected to the same water-action as in the case of a plaster wall, due to the porous nature of the bonding material.

In the practice of the present invention, an elongated housing or hollow strip I2 is directly aflixed by suitable fastening devices, as at iii, to the wood studding of the wall, and is disposed above and in spaced coextensive relation to the upper adjoining edge or rim of the bath tub I0. The housing I2 comprises a flat back plate [4 maintained in direct engagement with the outer surface of the studding l5, and an outer shield or cover plate I6 carried in transversely spaced relation to the back plate I4, and forming therewith an open-bottom housing. The back plate ll of the housing carries a plurality of longitudinally spaced and vertically arranged tubular collars H which provide individual housings for a like number of coiled compression springs l8. Carried between the inner and outer members of the housing substantially at the lower end thereof, is a coextensive inverted U-shaped bracket [9 in which is rigidly carried a downwardly projecting sealing strip 20, formed from a suitable yieldable material, such as rubber, or one of the many yieldable and flexible synthetic resins of the type typified by the polyvinyls. The bracket l9 carries a plurality of upwardly projecting studs 2| along its upper edge which are disposed in longitudinally spaced order corresponding to the spacing of the tubular collars l1. These studs 2| are positioned through the centers of the coil springs i8 and project upwardly within each of the tubular collars IT to prevent the bracket and its associated yieldable material from becoming displaced longitudinally of the housing. The coil spring I8 is positioned within each of the tabular collars I! so as to extend between the outer plate [6 of the housing and the upper shoulder or edge of the bracket I9. In this respect, the springs I8 by reacting against the under surface of the ledge 22 serves to impart a downward push to the bracket and its associated sealing strip 20, and resiliently urges the latter in an outward direction with respect to the open bottom of the housing.

As before stated, the housing is arranged in vertically spaced relation with the upper rim of the bath tub l0, so as to allow the sealing strip 20 to project outwardly from the open bottom thereof into tightly fitting engagement with the wall-adjoining edge of the rim of the bath tub, and due to the downward force applied to the sealing strip 20 by the spring 18, such engagement will be maintained at all times, even in the event of the settling or sagging of the bath tub with its associated floor support; and due to the mating engagement of the sealing strip 20 with the rim of the bath tub, a. water-tight seal is provided between the rim of the bath tub and the adjacent wall studding.

As shown particularly in Fig. 2 of the drawings, the outer plate 16 of the housing is bent so as to form a downwardly inclined shoulder or ledge portion 22 which, upon installation of the housing provides a shelf for a subsequently applied plaster wall surface 23. The overall dimensions of the housing are such, that the thickness of the housing approximates the normal thickness of the plaster wall surface, which in most instances is in the order of of an inch. The shelf or ledge 22 of the housing, in this manner, provides a convenient support for the lower edge of the plaster wall surface, and also presents a pleasing appearance due to the subsequently flush-fitting engagement between the plaster and the upper edge of the housing.

Referring particularly to Fig. 3 of the drawings, it will be seen that in the event that the bath tub I0 is built into a corner of a room, or where it is necessary to apply two or more of the present devices, the adjoining edges of each of the housings are beveled, as at 24, so as to form an adjoining corner, and a sheet of yieldable material 25 is positioned between the adjoining edges of the housings to prevent leakage of water at the intersections of the housings.

It will be understood, that the sealing apparatus constituting the present invention, may be installed either at the time of the original installation of the bath tub, or may be advantageously applied to the rim of a previously installed bath tub by simply removing the outer coating of the plaster surface of a wall adjoining the upper edge of the bath tub, so as to gain access to the wooden studding, in order that the housing may be applied thereto, and afterwards the plaster wall surface may be applied in the usual manner in abutting relation to the upper shelf edge of the housing.

In view of the foregoing, it will be seen that the present invention provides a highly useful and mechanically eflicient system and apparatus for efiecting a water-tight seal between the upper rim of a built-in bath tub, and the associated adjoining walls of a room. When so installed, apparatus formed in accordance with the present invention functions to efliciently prevent the passage of water from the tub to the adjoining wall surface, thereby greatly decreasing the cost of maintenance and repair of the associated walls.

We claim:

Apparatus for protecting walls disposed in adjoining relation to the upper rim of an opentopped liquid receptacle comprising a strip-like housing having a flat back wall for abutting engagement with a wall support and a front wall secured along its top edge portion to the correspondmg top edge portion of said back wall and disposed throughout a major portion of its depth in spaced relation to said back wall and defining therewith a downwardly opening chamber, the front wall of said housing being formed intermediate its depth with a. laterally projecting coextensive ledge providing both the top wall of said chamber and a shelf to receive the lower edge portion of a layer of wall surfacing material applied externally to the wall support abutted by the back wall of said housing, a plurality of openended sleeves aflixed to one of said walls at substantlally right angles to the bottom edge of the housing at longitudinally spaced intervals thereof and being contained within the upper portion of said housing chamber and opening into the lower portion of said chamber, a continuous sealmg strip of resilient waterproof material slidably positioned within said lower portion of the hous- 1ng chamber and having a lower edge portion pro ecting downwardly and outwardly from said housing for engagement with the upper rim of a receptacle, said sealing strip being provided along its upper edge with a plurality of longitudinally spaced projections slidably extending into said tubular sleeves, and spring means contained in said sleeves and encircling said projections, said spring means reacting against the top wall of said chamber and the upper edge of said sealing strip and being operative to resiliently urge said sealing strip downwardly and outwardly of said housing.

HAROLD T. BASHOR.

CARROLL T. LUTZ.

References Cited in the file 01' this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 5 416,357 1,677,067 1,939,115 1,948,017 2,350,790 10 2,352,639

Name Date Coleman Dec. 3, 1889 Zimmerman et al. July 10, 1928 Fritsche Dec. 12, 1933 Wuebling Feb. 20, 1934 McCarthy June 6, 1944 Kinish July 4, 1944 

